Matheson to conduct at Arts Festival
John Matheson, senior conductor of the Royal Opera House. Covent Garden, has been engaged to conduct the opening concert for the Christchurch Arts Festival in March.
! He will also conduct a ! season of opera for the fes- ' tival, and has chosen to prei sent Mozart’s "The Marriage 1 of Figaro” for five or six per- ■ formances. The director of the Arts Festival (Mrs H. Holmes) i said that the opera ' was long and complex and ■ the most ambitious work undertaken for the Arts Festival. Singers for the parts will; be chosen mainly from New Zealanders working in opera in New Zealand and Australia. A chorus of 16 Christchurch singers will be auditioned here, and all rehearsals will be conducted in Christchurch early next year. Mr H. G. Hay, chairman of the festival committee, said that Mr Matheson was New Zealand’s finest operatic conductor, and that the production would make full use of local talent. The cost of staging the opera would necessitate a special grant from the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council, and a degree of private sponsorship, he said.
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Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33611, 13 August 1974, Page 3
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186Matheson to conduct at Arts Festival Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33611, 13 August 1974, Page 3
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